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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI posted earlier about my concern on going 100% raw:
http://goneraw.com/forums/2/topics/1683
...about people losing hair, having problems with teeth, getting too thin… etc.
And lately, I’ve been seeing people posting about these kinds of problems. Apparently, it IS common for this to happen if so many people are posting about it. There must be something that’s missing… somewhere, that is causing this. Or, maybe it really something you have to go through when going raw.
Any ideas… (I have no idea)... so, I look forward to your thoughts.
Thanks.
Comments
i don’t know. not enough greens? too much sugar?
in rainbow green live food cuisine gabriel cousens differentiates between foods (even raw ones) which turn our “compost” button on (i.e. make our body start to self-destruct) and those that support the opposite.
it’s quite interesting, and based on medical research that he’s done.
basically, cashews, corn, mushrooms, most grains, create fungus in between the cells.
AND while detoxing you should avoid THESE and sweet fruits—mangoes, bananas, dates, dried fruits of any kinds.
he says that once your “compost” button is off it’s pretty hard to turn it back on again with the occasional deviation, BUT it can take over 3 months to turn it OFF.
i myself haven’t had any of these problems so far though. and i can’t imagine that eating nutrient-dense foods could in itself be causing these problems.
I have trouble meeting daily requirements for selenium, zinc, b12, D, and calcium. Unless I eat a lot of nuts and seeds. Even then I’m just making minimums, and never getting any D unless I eat loads of mushrooms or get more sunshine. B12? According to my records, I get none.
I’m taking MSM for hair (not sure if that means anything), I’m brushing my teeth three times a day, flossing in the morning and evening, and I’ve bought into the “oil pulling” idea. Why not, hey?
I’m twenty or thirty pounds too thin. Despite maybe hundreds of coconuts by now, and three or four avocadoes a day. I feel GREAT, though!
I’d love to hear more suggestions about those three topics: hair, teeth, weightloss.
Hi Guys,
I am taking a program on holistic nutrition right now and from what I am learning these symptoms really shouldn’t be happening unless you are lacking sufficient protein and EFA’s. Loosing hair is a REALLY dangerous sign that you are not getting enough protein and your body is robbing every other part to meet its protein needs. Same for calcium. If you are not getting enough calcium your body will rob the bones for the calcium to meet its needs as the body always tries to remain in a state of balance. Eventually the lack of calcium will probably lead to osteoporosis. In the case of raw foodism please do not be afraid of fats and you will only be obtaining healthy fats which the body needs for so many functions. And just to let you know B12 can be obtained in very small amounts in spirulina. To boost your zinc try eating more raw pumpkin seeds. Hope this helps a little.
For B12, they say even letting your organic produce not being washed very well (the very little bit of dirt in your lettuce or whatever) will give you B12. And nutritional yeast has B12 to my knowledge. And besides that, nutritional experts say that you only need at little bit of B12, very little, for your body’s requirements. Very little.
i don’t understand the MSM thing. maybe someone can explain it. if it is naturally occuring in vegetables, then shouldn’t we have a more than suffient amount of it?
maybe the side effects come from a lack of startch or carbohydrates? just a guess. but if you are eating a balanced raw diet, and you’ve got a dehydrator, grains could be more a part of the diet.
the thinning hair, and hair falling out scares me, when your hair isn’t healthy it is a sign that something is wrong. when i’ve been sick in the past, my hair has literally stopped growing. usually if your hair growth is messed up it means your body is busy doing more important things.
gums receeding could be from too much fruit sugar, i could see how that would happen.
the b12 deficiency seems to be individual, some are effected, some have no problem whatsoever. that is puzzling to me.
Interesting.
I went through some time where my hair stopped growing. Then, I did a cleanse… and it grew!
I didn’t know gums receeding had to do with too much fruit… something to research.
B12 is also found in cabbage and comfrey. I don’t know in what amounts. Doesn’t B12 also grow in your mouth… when you wake up in the morning and brush your tongue with your toothbrush… that’s supposed to “activate” B12.
@ germin8 Getting too thin and not being able to gain it back on raw is all about not having normal level of stomach acid, says Victoria Boutenko in “Green for Life”. She describes a study performed in Roseburg where green smoothies added to peoples usual diet were able to raise stomach acid level within a month, if I remember correctly. For immediate result tablets raising acid level can be taken, but I do not know their name in English. I’ve found them in my local health store here in Denmark, but doctors can prescribe them too.
@ shane Perhaps the daily requirements isn’t correct? Heat treated and synthetic minerals aren’t absorbed as easily as their natural counterparts found in raw foods.
Lack of green, leafy vegetables (that’s less than 1 or 2 pounds a day, Boutenko says, is the problem behind all 3 symptoms you mention.
So, give green smoothies a month and see if that doesn’t solve things.
Thanks for the advice rawjoy.
My mom has been in town these past couple weeks… I introduced her to Loving Life raw food restaurant… and even made her pleny of raw food while she was here. She enjoyed it all!
I’m just about to start eating GREENS, GREENS, GREENS! For one month… that’s my goal.
It might be helpful to think of the big picture, also: look at all the recipes on this site—they’re delicious, yes, and raw, yes, but so many of them are extremely high in fat! Many raw foodists eat 70% of their calories from fat or more, which is quite dangerous, actually.
Two years ago, I completely recovered from cancer and bipolar disorder and migraines and acne and a host of other problems in the space of three months in part thanks to a Whole raw food diet, ie: no mixing at all, no recipes, just eating whole foods selected by instinct…mostly fruits, naturally, plus greens and some veggies, cabbage, some sprouts, and the occasional avocado or piece of fish. Then I discovered “Raw Food” as in the restaurants, the recipes, the nut butters, etc, etc, and was thrilled to be able to eat “normal” meals again, and to be able to get creative in the kitchen again. With gusto, I taught myself every conceivable raw food culinary skill, and challenged myself daily to prepare delicious raw meals, thinking that I could now maintain my health on gourmet meals, since they were essentially harmless foods, just mixed up a bit.
I was wrong. Acne returned first, with digestive problems, lots of them, my mood became destabilized, I felt lethargic from all the fat (most raw food recipes are dangerously high in fat) and I started getting migraines again.
While it’s great to be able to recreate these special raw gourmet meals from our pasts for a special treat once in a while, (and don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE to prepare and taste raw gourmet meals ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS) I hope others will not deceive themselves into thinking that these high-fat high-salt spiced-up poorly-combined meals constitute a healthful or long-term sustainable diet just because they are technically “raw”. Short term, as transition food, great, superb, but long term, be careful! Liver and kidney cannot take so much fat all the time! If this is about losing weight or trying something new for you, don’t worry about it for now, but if any of you are suffering from acute or “terminal”illness, as I was, please believe me that cacao smoothies and raw lasagna will not make you any better!
I just read Dr. Doug Graham’s 80/10/10 Diet book, which I highly recommend. In it he describes quite clearly why he thinks that so many raw foodists run into health problems.
LovefoodLaughter-i TOTALLY agree. instinctively this is what i am discovering for myself. the same “common sense” rules apply, whether raw or not.
fresh (as opposed to dehydrated or cooked) makes me feel better, less fat makes me feel better, less concentrated sugar makes me feel better, more vegetables make me feel better, less food makes me feel better. someone eating salad vs. someone eating dessert is the same in any culinary language.
p.s. that is the coolest hat!
I had the strongest re-action just after my transition to 100% from 95%. I went through a period of strangeness that included my teeth rejecting my fillings and falling apart. This time lasted a few months. I just carried on, kept moving, stretching and I came out of it amazing. It was worth it, and I was really healthy already when I was 95%.
I feel incredible now, still eat what I want, when I want, etc. I slowly crave a simpler diet always. Every so often I want more fats or more dehydrated foods, it all seems to go smooth. I find it good to have a good and changing variety of fruits and veggies. Some times I’ll get a real charge from something I have not been eating much of. Then I’ll have more of that, my body will give me this reaction for a few days and then it will fade. I think that this is pure magic!!!
I guess I am just saying cooked food is clearly not good. So believe in Raw. If serious symptoms occur, then take them seriously.
Thanks for the great advice… I never considered eating less “processed” raw food (if that makes sense). I was doing all that…. making myself gourmet and dehydrated foods and for 2 months I didn’t get any positive results… (but that a different topic now)! :o) Interesting.